Our tragedy today is a general and universal physical fear so long sustained by now that we can even bear it. There are no longer problems of the spirit. There is only the question: When will I be blown up? Because of this, the young man or woman writing today has forgotten the problems of the human heart in conflict with itself which alone can make good writing because only that is worth writing about, worth the agony and the sweat.
William Faulkner

Five Questions: John Barlow

1. Why do you blog?
Writing a short, neat entry is a bit like doing the quick crossword; meaningless but enjoyable.

2. Which author and/or book has most influenced you?
Giovanni Guareschi’s Don Camillo stories, because they are perfectly human.

3. Which three blogs do you most visit?Grumpy Old Bookman, because I became habituated to his opinions (though not converted).
No others; I keep away as much as I can these days, to conserve time.

4. Why do you read fiction?
I have no idea. I think the value of a ‘good book’ was drummed into me when young, and I associate reading with being good. Of course, I also prefer fictive worlds to the real one.